Chair



F. E. KEHOE March 14, 1967 CHAIR Filed Dec. 27, 1965 INVENTOR FRANK E.KEHOE United States Patent f 3,309,136 CHAIR Frank E. Kehoe, 1498 W.California Ave., St. Paul, Minn. 55108 Filed Dec. 27, 1965, Ser. No.525,003 6 Claims. (Cl. 297-296) This application is acontinuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 417,989,filed December 14, 1964, now abandoned.

This invention relates to chair structures and more particularly to asingle standard chair suitable for multiple seating.

Chair structures of the type commonly employed for multiple seating asin auditoriums, conference rooms, or the like are normally relativelymassive and structurally complex. Such chairs are not only expensive tomanufacture and difiicult to install and maintain, but also presentsubstantial obstruction and inteference with cleaning and maintenance ofthe area in which they are used. Further, such chairs are normallyspecially designed for group use and are not suitable for independentuse. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide animproved single standard chair suitable for use independently or ingroups for multiple seating.

Another object of this invention is to provide a chair structure havinga single standard resiliently supporting a seat and a backrestindependently of one another.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simplified chairstructure having a single standard resiliently mounting a backrest and aseat for limited resiliently resisted movement and including arm restmounted for movement with the seat and for limited resiliently resistedmovement with respect to said seat.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved chairstructure having a seat resiliently mounted for limited movement andhaving a tablet arm mounted for movement therewith.

Other and further objects of my invention will become apparent from thefollowing specifications, taken with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chair according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 with the seat shown inthe raised, non-use position;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the chair;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the chair, with the seat shown inphantom in the raised position;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the chair taken from the rear of thechair;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a tablet arm suitable for use with thechair; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the hinge structure of the tabletarm shown in FIG. 6.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a chair embodying the presentinvention is illustrated generally by the numeral 1 and includes abackrest 2 and a seat 3 independently supported by a single standard 4.Standard 4 is formed from a single, elongated structural element such asa fiat steel bar as illustrated in the drawings, and has sufficientresiliency to permit limited resilently resisted movement of both theseat and backrest upon the application of pressure by a person occupyingthe chair. The standard 4 is shaped to include a substantiallyhorizontal base section 5 intermediate the ends for engaging andsupporting the chair on a suitable ground surface such as the fioorillustrated at 6. Suitable means, such as screws 7 illustrated inphantom in FIGS. 3 and 4, extend through openings 8 in section 5 forsecuring the chair to the floor 6. Standard 4 includes a firstcantilevered portion 10 integrally formed with and projecting upwardly"ice from one end of base section 5 for engaging and supporting backrest2 mounted thereon by suitable means such as screws 11. A secondcantilevered portion 12, integrally formed with and projecting upwardlyfrom the other end of base section 5, includes a first generallyvertical section 13 and terminates at its upper end in a secondsubstantially horizontal, rearwardly extending platform 14 for Isupporting seat 3.

Seat 3 has a bearing plate 15 mounted on its bottom surface, as byscrews 16, and a hinge 17 pivotally mounts bearing plate 15 onto thedistal end 18 of platform 14 so that seat 3 is movable between a raised,non-use position illustrated in FIG. 2 and a substantially horizontalseating position with the bearing plate 15 resting upon and supported bythe upper surface of platform 14 of the cantilevered portion 12 asillustrated in FIG. 4. The resilience of cantilevered section 13 and ofplatform 14 permit seat 3 to be inclined or rocked slightly about theupper end of section 13 as a person occupying the chair shifts hisweight on the seat.

.It is believed apparent that the relatively long, cantilevered segment10 of the resilient support standard 4, projecting upwardly from thefioor to support the backrest 3, permits the backrest to move back andforth with respect to seat 2 in accordance with the force applied to thebackrest by a person occupying the chair. Also, the relatively long,cantilevered section 13, extending upwardly from the floor in agenerally vertical direction, permits limited resiliently resistedmovement of the seat in a horizontal direction toward and away from thebackrest in response to pressure exerted on the seat. Thus, by

. simply shifting his position, a person occupying the chair may assumean upright seating position or a more reclined position as desired.

A pair of arm rests 20 are mounted one on each side of the chair, withthe respective arm rests being supported on the upper free ends of thearms 21 of a substantially U-shaped support member 22. Arms 21 areintegrally formed with a base section 23 extending substantiallyhorizontally beneath seat 3 in vertically spaced relation thereto, withsection 23 being fixedly secured to the under side of platform 14, as byscrews 24. Thus, it is seen that any movement of platform 14, and theseat 3 supported thereon, will result in corresponding, simultaneousmovement of arm rests 20. Also, support 22 is preferably constructedfrom a continuous structural element such as the fiat steel barillustrated in the drawings and has sufiicient resiliency to permitlimited resiliently resisted movement of the arm rests with respect tothe seat 3. However, by spacing section 23 of support 22 verticallybelow the bottom surface of seat 3, the possibility of articles becomingclamped therebetween is virtaually eliminated.

As an alternate construction, one or both of the arm rests 20 may bereplaced by a writing or tablet arm 30 as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.The tablet arm 30 includes a fixed portion rigidly mounted on the upperend of arm 21 and having a planar upper surface. A movable section 32 ismounted, as by hinges 33 for movement between a position illustrated inFIG. 6 wherein the planar upper surface of section 32 lies in the sameplane as the upper surface of section 31 to form a continuous, smoothwriting surface and a folded position wherein the upper surface ofsection 32 overlies the upper surface of section 31. Since tablet arm 30is mounted for movement with seat 3, the occupant of the chair mayreadily use the arm 30 as writing surface since any movement of the armwill be coordinated with movement of the seat and therefore will notinterfere with the Writing.

From the above it can be seen that I have provided a sturdy, yetresilient, chair which may be easily and in- 3 expensively manufacturedand which may be used individually or installed for multiple seating.The chair requires a minimum of maintenance and when installed in placefor multiple seating, offers minimum obstruction to cleaning ormaintenance of the supporting ground surface. When the chair is employedfor multiple seating, as in a theatre, auditorium, or the like, thechairs are secured in place to the floor, in any desired spacing, bysimply installing the screws through the bottom horizontal section ofthe single standard. Similarly, the individual chairs may be secured inplace around conference tables,

or the like, or alternatively, may be mounted on movable platforms orbase such as a flat plate to permit the structure to be used and movedas an ordinary chair.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention I wish itunderstood that I do not intend to be restricted solely thereto, butthat I do intend to cover all embodiments thereof which would be obviousto one skilled in the art and which come within the spirit and scope ofmy invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A chair structure comprising a single standard supporting a backrestand a seat, said standard being formed from an elongated resilientstructural member and including a substantially horizontal base portionintermediate its ends for fixedly supporting the chair on a floorsurface, a first cantilevered portion on one end of said horizontal baseportion and projecting upwardly and rearwardly from said base portion,means fixedly supporting said backrest on the upper free end of saidfirst cantilevered portion for limited resiliently resisted movementtherewith, a second cantilevered portion on the other end of saidhorizontal base portion and projecting upwardly and slightly forwardlyfrom said base portion in a generally vertical direction, and hingemeans mounting said seat on said second cantilevered portion for pivotalmovement between a substantially horizontal seating position and araised non-use position, said second cantilevered portion supportingsaid seat for resiliently resisted substantially horizontal movementforwardly from said base portion in a direction outward and away fromsaid backrest, said first cantilevered portion supporting said backrestfor resiliently resisted movement rearwardly from said base portion, themovement of said seat and said backrest permitting a person occupyingthe chair to assume a substantially reclined seating position.

2. The chair structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said secondcantilevered portion terminates at its upper end in a substantiallyhorizontal rearwardly extending platform, and said hinge means mountssaid seat on the distal end of said platform, said platform supportingsaid seat for resiliently resisted movement in a vertical direction.

3. The chair structure as defined in claim 2 wherein the bottom surfaceof said seat rests upon and is vertically supported solely by saidplatform when said seat is in said seating position.

4. The chair structure as defined in claim 2 including an arm rest ateach side of said seat, and means mounting said arm rest on said secondcantilevered portion independently of said seat for horizontal andvertical movement with said seat when said seat is in said seatingposition.

5. The chair structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said means mountingsaid arm rest comprises an elongated resilient support member fixedlysecured to the bottom surface of said platform and extending laterallytherefrom beneath said seat in vertically spaced relation thereto andterminating at each end in an integrally formed substantially verticalarm portion supporting said arm rests for resiliently resisted verticalmovement with respect to said seat.

6. The chair structure as defined in claim 4 wherein at least one ofsaid arm rests includes a fixed portion having a planar upper surfaceand a movable portion having a planar surface, said movable portionbeing hinged to one edge of said fixed portion for movement between afirst position wherein said planar surfaces lie in a common planeforming a continuous work support and a second position wherein saidsecond portion overlies said first portion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 668,489 2/ 1901Collignon 297-162 1,319,551 10/1919 Wolary 297-296 1,977,702 10/ 1934Summerlee 297418 2,546,268 3/1951 Legris 248-499 2,773,544 12/1956Dusenbury N 297-411 2,965,155 12/1960 Henrikson 297-333 2,986,203 5/1961 Close 297418 3,241,884 3/ 1966 Thatcher et al a- 297-445 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,071,304 12/1959 Germany.

486,513 9/ 1936 Great Britain. 612,747 11/ 1948 Great Britain.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

F. K. ZUGEL, Assistant Examiner.

1. A CHAIR STRUCTURE COMPRISING A SINGLE STANDARD SUPPORTING A BACKRESTAND A SEAT, SAID STANDARD BEING FORMED FROM AN ELONGATED RESILIENTSTRUCTURAL MEMBER AND INCLUDING A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL BASE PORTIONINTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS FOR FIXEDLY SUPPORTING THE CHAIR ON A FLOORSURFACE, A FIRST CANTILEVERED PORTION ON ONE END OF SAID HORIZONTAL BASEPORTION AND PROJECTING UPWARDLY AND REARWARDLY FROM SAID BASE PORTION,MEANS FIXEDLY SUPPORTING SAID BACKREST ON THE UPPER FREE END OF SAIDFIRST CANTILEVERED PORTION FOR LIMITED RESILIENTLY RESISTED MOVEMENTTHEREWITH, A SECOND CANTILEVERED PORTION ON THE OTHER END OF SAIDHORIZONTAL BASE PORTION AND PROJECTING UPWARDLY AND SLIGHTLY FORWARDLYFROM SAID BASE PORTION IN A GENERALLY VERTICAL DIRECTION, AND HINGEMEANS MOUNTING SAID SEAT ON SAID SECOND CANTILEVERED PORTION FOR PIVOTALMOVEMENT BETWEEN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL SEATING POSITION